hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is troubleshooting a legacy…
A technician is troubleshooting a legacy application that uses FTP for file transfers. The transfers work but are extremely slow. The network team mentions that the firewall is configured to inspect traffic on certain ports. Which port should be opened for FTP data transfer to improve performance?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse FTP data port 20 with the control port 21, or they mistakenly associate port 22 (SSH/SFTP) with secure file transfers, overlooking that the question specifically asks for FTP data transfer performance.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Port 20
FTP uses two channels: a control channel on port 21 and a data channel on port 20 (in active mode). When a firewall inspects traffic, it may interfere with the dynamic negotiation of the data port, causing performance degradation. Opening port 20 allows the data channel to pass through without inspection, improving transfer speed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Port 22
Why it's wrong here
Port 22 is for SFTP, which is a different protocol over SSH.
- ✓
Port 20
Why this is correct
Port 20 is the default data port for active FTP transfers.
- ✗
Port 23
Why it's wrong here
Port 23 is for Telnet, not FTP.
- ✗
Port 69
Why it's wrong here
Port 69 is reserved for TFTP, which uses UDP and lacks the authentication and reliability mechanisms of FTP; the legacy application explicitly requires FTP, so TFTP cannot handle its file transfer protocol. It is tempting because both TFTP and FTP serve file transfer needs, and port 69 is a well-known alternative, but TFTP’s connectionless UDP transport cannot support the TCP-based data channel (port 20) that FTP requires for efficient, ordered transfers.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.